AB-1056 Second Chance Program.(2015-2016)

Bill Start

Assembly Bill
No. 1056

CHAPTER 438

An act to amend Sections 97013 and 97015 of the Government Code, and to add Article 5 (commencing with Section 6046) to Chapter 5 of Title 7 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, relating to recidivism reduction, and making an appropriation therefor.

[
Approved by
Governor
October 02, 2015.
Filed with
Secretary of State
October 02, 2015.
]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1056, Atkins.
Second Chance Program.

(1) Existing law, until January 1, 2020, establishes the Social Innovation Financing Program, and requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer the program. Existing law, among other things, authorizes the board, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for deposit into the Recidivism Reduction Fund, to award grants in amounts of not less than $500,000 and not more than $2,000,000 to each of 3 counties,
selected as specified, for the purpose of entering into a pay for success or social innovation financing contract, pursuant to which private investors agree to provide financing to service providers to achieve social outcomes agreed upon in advance and the government agency that is a party to the contractual agreement agrees to pay a return on the investment to the investors if successful programmatic outcomes are achieved by the service provider. Existing law limits the total amount of the grants awarded to $5,000,000. Existing law requires each county receiving an award to report annually to the Governor and Legislature on the status of its program. Existing law requires the board to compile the county reports and submit a summary report to the Governor and the Legislature annually.

This bill would extend the operation of that program and the reporting
requirements until January 1, 2022.

This bill would also require the board to administer a competitive grant program that focuses on community-based solutions for reducing recidivism. The bill would establish minimum criteria for the grant program and would require the board to establish an executive steering committee, as specified, to
make recommendations regarding the design, efficacy, and viability of proposals and to make recommendations on guidelines for the submission of proposals for the grant program, including threshold or scoring criteria, or both. Among other things, the bill would require those guidelines to prioritize proposals that advance principles of restorative justice while demonstrating a capacity to reduce recidivism, and that leverage certain other federal, state, and local funds or social investments. The bill would define recidivism, for the purposes of these provisions, as a conviction of a new felony or misdemeanor committed within 3 years of release from custody or committed within 3 years of placement on supervision for a previous criminal conviction.

(2) The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act establishes within the State Treasury the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund to receive moneys transferred from the
General Fund in an amount equal to the savings resulting from the implementation of the act, as specified. The act requires that 65% of the moneys in the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund be allocated the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer a grant program to public agencies aimed at supporting specified types of programs, including diversion programs, for people in the criminal justice system with an emphasis on programs that reduce recidivism, as specified.

This bill would create the Second Chance Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of funding the above-described recidivism reduction program. The bill would require the Controller, upon order of the Director of Finance, to transfer
the moneys available to the Board of State and Community Corrections from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund into the Second Chance Fund. The bill would also authorize the Second Chance Fund to receive moneys from any other federal, state, or local grant, or from any private donation. The bill would prohibit the board from using the moneys in the fund to supplant existing programs and from spending more than 5% per year of the total moneys in the fund for administrative purposes.

The bill would require the board to administer these provisions, and moneys in the fund would be continuously appropriated to the board for expenditure for these purposes. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

(3) The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act provides that its provisions may be amended by a statute, passed by a
2/3 vote of each house of the Legislature and signed by the Governor, that is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act.

This bill would declare that its provisions further the intent of the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.

Digest Key

Vote:
2/3
Appropriation:
YES
Fiscal Committee:
YES
Local Program:
NO

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) California voters approved Proposition 47, known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act of 2014. The measure was enacted to ensure that prison spending is focused on violent and serious offenses, to maximize alternatives for nonviolent and nonserious crime, and to invest the resulting savings into prevention and support programs.

(b) Research has shown that people in the criminal justice system disproportionately suffer from mental health issues and substance use disorders. Nationally, over one-half of all people in
prisons or jails have experienced a mental health issue within the last year, and over one-half of women and 44 percent of men in jail have a drug or alcohol dependency.

(c) People in the criminal justice system and formerly incarcerated individuals have difficulty securing housing and employment following their incarceration. These challenges are compounded for people living with mental health issues or substance use disorders. As a result, many formerly incarcerated people, especially those with mental health issues or substance abuse disorders experience homelessness. Experiencing homelessness greatly increases the likelihood that a formerly incarcerated person will recidivate.

(d) Offering people in the criminal justice system and formerly incarcerated individuals
meaningful access to mental health services, substance use treatment services, housing, housing-related job assistance, job skills training, and other community-based supportive services has been shown to decrease the likelihood of future contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

(e) Prioritizing the state savings realized by the implementation of the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act of 2014 for projects that combine mental health services, substance use treatment services, housing, housing-related job assistance, job skills training, and other community-based supportive services will help the state meaningfully reduce recidivism.

(f) By prioritizing projects that offer comprehensive interventions, the Legislature intends for public agencies,
nonprofits, and other community-based providers of services to people in the criminal justice system and formerly incarcerated individuals to leverage additional federal, state, and local funds for social investment resources.

(g) The Legislature intends to promote the use of restorative justice principles in addressing recidivism.

SEC. 2.

Section 97013 of the Government Code is amended to read:

97013.

(a) Each county receiving an award shall report annually to the board on the status of its ongoing social innovation financing program. The report shall also contain an accounting of the moneys awarded.

(b) The board shall compile the county reports and submit a summary report to the Governor and Legislature annually.

(c) A report made pursuant to this section shall be made in accordance with the requirements of Section 9795.

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2022, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 3.

Section 97015 of the Government Code is amended to read:

97015.

This title shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 4.

Article 5 (commencing with Section 6046) is added to Chapter 5 of Title 7 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, to read:

Article
5. Second Chance Program

6046.

(a) The purpose of this article is to build safer communities by investing in community-based programs, services, and initiatives for formerly incarcerated individuals in need of mental health and substance use treatment services.

(b) The program established pursuant to this article shall be restricted to supporting mental health treatment, substance use treatment, and diversion programs for persons in the criminal justice system, with an emphasis on programs that reduce recidivism of persons convicted of less serious crimes, such as those covered by the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act of 2014, and those who have substance use and mental health problems.

(c) The Board of State and Community Corrections shall administer a grant program established pursuant to this article.

6046.1.

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) “Board” means the Board of State and Community Corrections.

(b) “Fund” means the Second Chance Fund established pursuant to Section 6046.2.

(c) “Public agency” means a county, city, whether a general law city or a chartered city, or city and county, the duly constituted governing body of an Indian reservation or rancheria, a school district, municipal corporation, district, political subdivision, or any board, commission, or agency thereof, entities that are legislative bodies of a local agency pursuant to subdivision (c) or (d) of Section
54952 of the Government Code, a housing authority organized pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 34200) of Division 24 of the Health and Safety Code, a state agency, public district, or other political subdivision of the state, or any instrumentality thereof, which is authorized to engage in or assist in the development or operation of housing for persons and families of low or moderate income.

(d) “Recidivism” means a conviction of a new felony or misdemeanor committed within three years
of release from custody or committed within three years of placement on supervision for a previous criminal conviction.

6046.2.

(a) The Second Chance Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. The board shall be responsible for administering the fund. Moneys in the fund are hereby continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year for the purposes of this article.

(b) (1) The Controller, upon order of the Director of Finance, shall transfer moneys available to the Board of State and Community Corrections pursuant to paragraph (3)
of subdivision (a) of Section 7599.2 of the Government Code into the Second Chance Fund.

(2) The Second Chance Fund may receive moneys from any other federal, state, or local grant, or from any private donation or grant, for the purposes of this article.

(c) The board shall not spend more than 5 percent annually of the moneys in the fund for administrative costs.

6046.3.

(a) The board shall administer a competitive grant program to carry out the purposes of this article that focuses on community-based solutions for reducing recidivism. The grant program shall, at minimum, do all of the following:

(1) Restrict eligibility to proposals designed to serve people who have been arrested, charged with, or convicted of a criminal offense and have a history of mental health or substance use disorders.

(3) Restrict eligibility to proposals that have a public agency as the lead applicant.

(b) The board shall form an executive steering committee that includes, but is not limited to, a balanced and diverse membership from relevant state and local government entities, community-based treatment and service providers, and the formerly incarcerated community. The committee shall have expertise in homelessness and
housing, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, and effective rehabilitative treatment for adults and juveniles. The committee shall make recommendations regarding the design, efficacy, and viability of proposals, and make recommendations on guidelines for the submission of proposals, including threshold or scoring criteria, or both, that do all of the following:

(1) Prioritize proposals that advance principles of restorative justice while demonstrating a capacity to reduce recidivism.

(2) Prioritize proposals that leverage other federal, state, and local funds or other social investments, such as the following sources of funding:

(B) Housing-related assistance that utilizes evidence-based models, including, but not limited to, those recommended by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing-related assistance may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(7) Consider ways to promote services for people with offenses identical or similar to those addressed by the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act of 2014, without precluding assistance to a person with other offenses in his or her
criminal history.